Droupadi Murmu offers prayers at Kandhuni temple
Brahmapur: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday visited Taptapani in Ganjam district to offer prayers at the revered Maa Kandhuni Devi Temple. Nestled in the Eastern Ghats, the sacred tribal shrine sits next to the area’s famous natural hot sulphur springs.
Arriving from Brahmapur in a carcade, the President visited the Taptapani Panthanivas, where she bathed in the famous natural hot sulphur springs before lunch. She then proceeded to the nearby Maa Kandhuni Devi and Nilakantheswar Shiva temples, both elegantly decorated with fresh flowers for the occasion.
The Maa Kandhuni Devi Temple committee accorded her a warm welcome and escorted her into the sanctum sanctorum at 3.15 pm, where she performed special puja before the presiding deity and spent 30 minutes. During the ritual, entry of devotees into the temple was temporarily restricted for security reasons.
Despite intermittent drizzle, hundreds of local residents gathered outside the shrine since 9 am to catch a glimpse of the President. The visit is expected to boost the profile of Taptapani, a renowned tourist destination famous for its natural hot sulphur springs.
A historic bungalow built in 1860 by Pudamari King Adikanda Dev for visiting British officials, it continues to stand as a reminder of Taptapani’s colonial past. The bungalow, equipped with a bathing tub fed by the natural hot sulphur spring, has since been developed into a Panthanivas offering the same unique hot-water bathing facility to tourists. According to noted Ganjam historian Anantaram Kar Kaundinya, Raja Nanda Kishore Dev later constructed a kutcha road to Taptapani by cutting through the surrounding hills, while the first motor vehicle reached the scenic destination in 1945, marking a significant milestone in its accessibility.
Following the temple visit, the President left for the Army Air Defence College at Golabandha for an overnight stay. Elaborate security arrangements, including deployment of around 30 police platoons, were enforced throughout the visit.